In an attempt to stop premature ageing, I decided to take the V70R to an evoactive day at Silverstone. I hoped that pressing the 'advanced driving' button on the dash and turning the traction control off would transform our Swedish Superbus into an ass-kicking track machine.

So I burbled confidently onto the track with the DSTC (Dynamic Stability and Traction Control) turned off - to do this you have to press the button five times in succession, so it can't be turned off accidentally during normal driving.

After a couple of laps with lots of wheelspin and some moments of sheer oversteer terror, I decided to switch the DSTC back on, to spare the tyres further punishment. You can activate DSTC partially, which still allows for a degree of oversteer but, once at the limit, it kicks in and limits your slides; still good fun, though.

On my final lap I reactivated DSTC fully and instead of spinning wheels and opposite lock, DSTC throttled the engine to reduce the torque, fiddled with the brakes, and kept me on the right line, more or less.

The V70R is a lot of fun on the circuit, but only if you can afford to fit new tyres after every trackday. So I think I'll stick to super comfortable, super fast cruising, which is what the V70R does best. Now if you would be so kind as to pass me my pipe and slippers...